Eminem Introduces Barack Obama at Detroit Rally for Kamala Harris: 'It's Important to Use Your Voice'
:max_bytes(150000):strip_icc():format(jpeg)/Eminem-and-Barack-Obama-102224-ba4fa65b498e4c209e307d514fd56cc7.jpg)
10/22/2024 09:49 PM
The Grammy-winning rapper has supported both Obama and Harris' political careers
AP Photo/Paul Sancya
Eminem and Barack Obama at a campaign rally for Kamala Harris on Tuesday, Oct. 22, 2024Eminem welcomed Barack Obama to the stage while appearing at a Kamala Harris rally in Michigan just two weeks before the 2024 presidential election.
The Grammy-winning artist, 52, and former Democratic president, 63, briefly shared the spotlighton Tuesday, Oct. 22, in Detroit as they rallied support for Harris' campaign ahead of Election Day.
Addressing the crowd, Eminem explained that he "wrote down a few things I wanted to say."
Rapper Eminem introduces former President Barack Obama at a Detroit rally for Vice President Kamala Harris. pic.twitter.com/SGURWEGAMw
— MSNBC (@MSNBC) October 23, 2024
"I'm here tonight for a couple of important reasons," said the "Houdini" rapper. "As most of you know, the city of Detroit and the whole state of Michigan mean a lot to me, and going into this election, the spotlight is on us more than ever, and I think it's important to use your voice, so I'm encouraging everybody to get out and vote, please."
"I also think that people shouldn't be afraid to express their opinions, and I don't think anyone wants an America where people are worried about retribution of what people will do if you make your opinion known," he continued.
"I think Vice President Harris supports a future for this country where these freedoms and many others will be protected and upheld," said Eminem before introducing Obama, who began his speech by quoting the rapper's 2002 hit song "Lose Yourself."
AP Photo/Paul Sancya
Barack Obama at a campaign rally for Kamala Harris on Tuesday, Oct. 22, 2024Eminem, who previously supported Obama's political career, also endorsed the Biden-Harris ticket in 2020. The day before the last election, the rap icon released an official campaign ad with "Lose Yourself" playing in the background, which he captioned, "One opportunity… #Vote."
The rapper has been a vocal critic of Harris' opponent, Donald Trump. In October 2017, Eminem delivered a nearly five-minute freestyle rap at the BET Awards that dissed the 45th president of the United States, who was wrapping up his first year in office at the time.
In the song, called "The Storm," Eminem called Trump a "b----" and slammed him for his comments about a White nationalist rally in Charlottesville and his attacks on NFL player protests.
Eminem released another song in 2017, called "Framed," that also took aim at Trump with a lyric that said, "That's an awfully hot coffee pot/Should I drop it on Donald Trump? Probably not/But that's all I got till I come up with a solid plot."
AP Photo/Paul Sancya
Eminem at a campaign rally for Kamala Harris on Tuesday, Oct. 22, 2024In 2018, Eminem suggested in a lyric from his song "The Ringer" that he was visited by the Secret Service after "Framed" was released. " 'Cause Agent Orange just sent the Secret Service/To meet in person to see if I really think of hurting him," he rapped in the song.
Never miss a story — sign up for PEOPLE's free daily newsletter to stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer, from celebrity news to compelling human interest stories.
At the time, the Secret Service characterized Eminem as "exhibiting inappropriate behavior" and said he threatened the "protectee," meaning Trump, according to documents previously obtained by BuzzFeed.
For more People news, make sure to sign up for our newsletter!
Read the original article on People.
